Eastern Sierra -- 2013

Mono County in northern California has created a very good guide for the 2013 Leaf Peeping season. You can order the guide, but it's also available for a download and the information seems timely!.

Mark

From the MonoCounty.org site:

Mono County, Calif. – A new edition of the Eastern Sierra Fall Color Guide & Map is now available with 21 of the best fall color viewing spots described and mapped out, from Big Pine in Inyo County to the northern tip of Mono County. Free copies are distributed at visitor centers all along US 395 in the Eastern Sierra, including the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center, the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center and Mono Lake Committee Information Center in Lee Vining, and the Bridgeport Ranger Station. .

Once you have arrived, pick a hike with guaranteed photo ops – Rock Creek Canyon is one sure bet. Parker Lake trail off the June Lake Loop (Hwy. 158) is another fall-color favorite. Lundy Canyon is a moderate trail that offers photogenic viewpoints overlooking waterfalls. Or choose a scenic drive with views from your windshield. The June Lake Loop (Hwy. 158) is beautiful all year round and especially in fall, when colorful trees hug the shores of June Lake and the town’s charming Main Street. Rock Creek Road offers 11 miles of fall color as it climbs to the far reaches of a dramatic canyon. Right along US 395, between Lee Vining and Bridgeport, the views from Conway Summit offer a multi-layered, multi-colored alpine landscape.

2014 Fall Foilage Report for California this week

Bishop and the Owens Valley in the Eastern Sierra hold title as Peak of the Week for spectacular stands of Fremont Cottonwood that are glowing yellow and orange along the Owens River. The higher reaches of the Eastern Sierra including Bishop Creek Canyon, Mammoth Lakes and June Lake are now all past peak and gearing up for winter.

The Shasta Cascade has swung from Patchy to Near Peak across the northeast corner of California. Riparian areas of Shasta Trinity National Forest Peak areas are filled with delicate color, big maple leaves and forests full of yellow, orange and red. At peak are Siskiyou County, Plumas County and Lassen County. Approaching peak are Shasta, Tehama, Butte, Modoc and Trinity Counties.

The Redwood Highway is near peak between Willits and Laytonville where a beautiful canopy of yellow, green and orange oak trees drapes the highway.
Color continues to descend through the Western Sierra, now peaking around 3,500 in elevation.

Road Trip of the Week is to drive Newton Road from Placerville to Pleasant Valley, then continue north to Sly Park and hike around Jenkinson Lake. The fruit orchards and vineyards at Apple Hill near Camino are near peak.

The towering urban forests of Sacramento in the Central Valley and Danville in the East San Francisco Bay Area are near peak and will continue to drop leaves through Thanksgiving Day. Tilden Park in Berkeley is still mixed and patchy.

In Southern California, Angeles National Forest is now past peak, as are Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, though black oak surrounding Lake Gregory are now peaking. In the San Jacinto Mountains, Idyllwind is now past peak, though Mountain Center and Lake Hemet are peaking. Cottonwoods in the camgrounds along the shore of Lake Hemet are beautifully colored golden. Mt. Laguna and Mt. Palomar in San Diego County remain patchy with a mix of color just emerging.

EASTERN SIERRA/LAKE TAHOE

Inyo County

Bishop and the Owens Valley (Peak 75-100%)  Stands of towering Fremont Cottonwood are brightly yellow from Lone Pine to Bishop along US 395. GO NOW!

Shasta county (Near Peak  50  75%)  Riparian areas beside the Sacramento River seen from I-5 and urban forests in Redding and Anderson are at full peak with black oak, cottonwood and willows colored yellow, orange and red. GO NOW!

Plumas County (Peak 75-100%) Plumas County continues at peak. Bigleaf maple are dropping huge yellow leaves in the Indian Valley. The Road to the Round Valley Reservoir is flanked by trees covered with yellow and orange oak and maple leaves. Indian Rhubarb are losing their red-orange intensity, though the North Fork of the Feather River is now being drapes with yellow. Youll find color along the Arlington Road, near the Hideaway Motel in Quincy, surrounding Greenville and along the Round Valley Road. GO NOW!

Tehama County (Near Peak  50  75%)  Tehama is forecast to peak this or next week. Many of the cottonwoods flanking the Sacramento River are heavy with gorgeous yellow- orange leaves. GO NOW!

Butte County (Near Peak  50  75%) - Downtown Chico, the CSU Chico campus, Paradise, orchards along CA-99 and Bidwell Park are the places to find the most color in Butte County. A favorite mid-November road trip is to Chico for lunch at the Sierra Nevada Brewery Restaurant (top rate), a tour of the brewery, fall color viewing in Chico and at Bidwell Park, visits to Orient and Flume Art Glass and Chicos many exceptional art galleries. GO NOW!

Modoc County (Near Peak  50  75%)  The Modoc people called this land at the extreme northeast corner of California, The Smiles of God, for its beauty and bounty. In autumn, Modoc National Forest is where people head to see its fall color and majesty. The forest is renowned for its western juniper  the largest unbroken expanse in the world, though it also has mountain mahogany, white-barked quaking aspen and purple sage that in autumn provide beautiful color. More than 300 species of wildlife pass through the region including many migratory waterfowl, Rocky Mountain elk, wild horses, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope. Peak is about to occur and should last almost to Thanksgiving Day. GO NOW!

Trinity County (Near Peak  50  75%)  Quite a bit of change has occurred in the past week with the Trinity River now brightly colored with yellow bigleaf maple, chartreuse wild cucumber and orange black oak surrounding Weaverville and along CA-299. GO NOW!

Lassen County (Peak 75 - 100%)  Fall Color has about another week to show in the Susanville area and Bizz Johnson trail, Mountain Meadows Reservoir and northeastern Lake Almanor haare exploding with fall color. GO NOW!

Siskiyou County (Peak 75  100%) Siskiyou County peaked last week and is now moving toward past peak. Beautiful color is found in Mt. Shasta, Weed and McCloud from both native and exotic trees. GO NOW!

NORTH COAST

Ukiah Valley (Near Peak 50 -75%) Vineyards surrounding Ukiah are mix of colors from orange to red with yellow. Some have peaked, while others are still a week away. GO NOW!

The Redwood Highway  US 101 (Near Peak  50  75%) - Color is best along the Redwood Highway between Willits and Laytonville. GO NOW!

Eel River (Peak 75100%)  Willows and cottonwood along the Eel River now approaching past peak with yellow and gold tones decreasing. GO NOW!

WESTERN SIERRA/GOLD COUNTRY

Yosemite National Park (Near Peak 5075%)  Peak will likely occur in Yosemite Valley this weekend and the following week with black oak turning orange, though many oaks are late turners and should provide color to Thanksgiving Day, weather permitting. Bigleaf maple and dogwood have peaked at Fern Spring. Yosemites peak should last another week. GO NOW!

South Fork, American River (US 50) (Peak 75 - 100%)  The American River above Camino is peaking with orange-yellow black oaks, golden willows and grasses carrying color. GO NOW!

Sacramento (Near Peak 50  75%)  Towering London Plane Trees throughout Sacramento and other majestic boulevard trees are near peak throughout Sacramento and in Land Park. Valley oak and black cottonwood along the American River Parkway are patchy. The color should continue through Thanksgiving Day. GO NOW!

Angeles National Forest (Past Peak)  The trail to Switzer Falls in the Angeles National Forest northeast of Los Angeles has peaked, though the forest floor is carpeted with spent orange pine needles, golden bigleaf maple and orange black oak leaves. YOU MISSED IT.

Mt. Palomar (Patchy 10-50%)  Black oaks on Mt. Palomar have a way to go before peak. Some trees were stripped of last weeks wind and rain, particularly those on south-facing slopes. Riparian foliage including berries, box elders and dogwoods provide bright spots of red, pink, yellow and green. Black oak are near peak close to the observatory.